Still Kicking
by alicat54
Summary: Ace crashes through he ceiling into the Fire Lord's palace. This is like the fifth time he has been mistaken for a god- were there really still islands on the Grand Line which had not heard of Devil Fruits? drabbles


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A/N: So this is a crossover idea I had, however I haven't managed to write more than a few drabbles. So, just pretend the rest of the story is there, and enjoy these little blurbs.

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Scene 1: Where Ace crashes through the ceiling into a strange place, and tries to get back to Marineford where his brother and crew are waiting for him. After all, he couldn't be dead, right?

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"Agni!" the crowd whispered behind their hands. "Agni has descended from the heavens to strike judgement upon the Fire Lord!"

Ace refrains from rolling his eyes. After, like, the fifth time, being mistaken for some kind of deity became annoying. Really, how many islands were there on the Grand Line which had never heard of Devil Fruit users?

Still, if it got him a meal and a place to sleep... The pirate grinned, letting the flames licking his shoulders flare.

The young man on the dais had managed to remain seated through the proceedings, despite how much it appeared like he wanted to reach for a weapon. His cloths reeked of nobility, but the scar on his face implied he had gotten into a bad fight once. Ace pegged him as the leader.

"Who are you?" scar face said, in a voice that knocked his age back a few years than what Ace had estimated.

Taking a bow worthy of any showman, the pirate grinned. "My name is Portagas D. Ace. Who are you? And for that matter, where am I?"

A calm blink and slight turning down of his lips was all the indication of scar face's surprise. If this island was as isolated as Ace thought, then not having heard of the leader was probably a surprise to them.

"I am Fire Lord Zuko, and you are in my court. How is it that you came to be here, Portagas D. Ace?"

Fire Lord- that was an even more pretentious title than 'Fire Fist'.

The pirate ran a hand over his chest, feeling smooth skin above a beating heart where a fist sized hole should have been. "Ah, well, I was fighting a man made out of magma, when POOF!" Here he put on a show and turned himself completely into fire, before becoming flesh again several feet from his original spot. "I landed here!"

Startled gasps broke from the audience at his display. Ace grinned.

Flame teleportation was the best parlor trick to pull at parties, at least until someone tries to push you overboard for being a smart-ass. There was this one time Thatch got so drunk that...suddenly Ace's game did not seem half as fun any more.

He turned his attention back to the 'fire lord'. "So if you could just tell me where on the Grand Line I am, and lend me a ship and a log post, I'll be on my way."

"'Grand Line'?" hissed a man in the crowd. "Like the navigation constellation?" A woman nearby elbowed him in the ribs, cutting his thought short.

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Scene 2: In which Ace obligingly allows the locals to feed him while he goes along with their odd traditions about dealing with 'beings like him.'

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"The Avatar is currently in the Earth Kingdom. We would be honored if you would remain here as our honored guest until his return."

Ace shrugged. "All right."

So long as he could eventually get into contact with the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates, everything would be fine. Nothing could kill Pops, and Marco would be sure to get Luffy to safety after Ace took a fist to the chest. He refused to consider the possibility that his family was dead.

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Scene 3: In which Ace bonds with his new friend.

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Ace grinned. "That is so cool! We don't have anything like that where I'm from!"

Zuko settled back into a ready stance. "That is because there is no bending in the spirit world."

The pirate shrugged. "That's what you call the places outside of this country?"

The Fire Lord gave him another odd look.

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"That is a mask of the Blue Spirit."

"It reminds me of a friend of mine," Ace said. The porcelain grinned with a large toothed underbite reminiscent of Jimbei.

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Scene 3: In which Ace learns how obsessed the Fire Nation is with astronomy.

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"This is the Grand Line." Zuko raised his hand and traced a pattern across the sky. "It is the sea upon which Agni sails his sun ship around the world."

Ace looked puzzled. "We call it the Milky Way."

"There is the Romance Dawn constellation. The nine stars resemble the bowl of plenty." Zuko grinned, "But most people say it looks like a straw hat. It marks Agni's rise from the spirit realm to start a new day. Sages say that several spirits inhabit that place in the sky, so one could pray for anything from strength to creativity. Lately it had become popular to pray to it for family members to be reunited."

"The White Mountain Spirit can warn villages when volcanoes are about to erupt, however he also causes earthquakes when angered. His constellation is there," Zuko traced a path in the sky. "The brightest stars in it are the Blue Phoenix and the Dancing Swordsman."

"Right next to it is the Portico of Fire. You can ask the spirit for help when embarking on new journeys or when transitioning between things." He snuck a sidelong glance at Ace, "That is the constellation which I chose to mark my rein as Fire Lord."

"Mark your rein?"

"Yes. It is meat to be symbolic, and the people will pray to that spirit during my time as ruler to ask for the kingdom's continued prosperity."

"Where there any others?"

Zuko pointed to a dark red star. "My father chose the Red Eagle-Hound. It symbolizes absolute justice and victory in battle. It eclipses the Portico every twenty years or so, blocking it from sight."

"Oh." Ace unconsciously rubbed the center of his chest as if trying to brush away a phantom pain.

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Scene 4: In which Ace meets the Avatar and takes a field trip to the Spirit World.

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The bald kid's eyes began to glow with an unearthly light, and something stepped away. Ace blinked, trying to understand how the boy had separated himself into the meditating body and slightly transparent figure standing next to it.

"There's two of you now!" Ace whistled, impressed.

The Avatar motioned to him with a hand. "Come on, it's over here."

Ace followed. The temple's walls became hazy as they walked, as if the shadows dancing in the mist were becoming more real. The pirate shook his head, this place was sure weird.

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Scene 5: In which there was probably an adventure involving several wacky hijinks, but afterwards Ace finds what he's been looking for.

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"Pops?" The emperor grinned at him from under a white mustache.

"Hey Ace!" a body slammed into his side slinging an arm over his shoulder.

"Thatch?" Ace fumbled to get a good look at his captor. "This is impossible! You're dead!"

"Yes that's right," the former division commander said.

"But-" Wordlessly the fire user looked at his crew mates clustered on the ship's deck. Horror filled his eyes, breaking the world into watery sparks. "You mean all you guys at Marineford-"

"Ace, it's all right." Warm arms wrap around his shoulders, while several pairs of hands knock the tears from his face before ruffling his hair. "We're all here, so stop crying like a sissy!"

"Sh-shut up," he sniffs, wiping an arm across face. Batting away his crew mate's hands, a grin split his damp face. "Sorry it took so long, but I'm home now."

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A/N: hope you liked it!

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